HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 5e. Authorization to Advertise Broadband Implementation Project - FFA, Specification 2001063 Item 5e
Department: Public Works
Cost Center: 9501
For Agenda of: 12/2/2025
Placement: Consent
Estimated Time: NA
FROM: Aaron Floyd, Public Works & Utilties Director
Prepared By: Anthony Ramos, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE BROADBAND IMPLEMENTATION
PROJECT - FFA, SPECIFICATION 2001063
RECOMMENDATION
1. Approve the project plans and special provisions for the Broadband
Implementation Project – FFA (project), Specification 2001063; and
2. Authorize staff to advertise for bids; and
3. Authorize the City Manager to award the Construction Contract pursuant to Section
3.24.190 of the Municipal Code, if the lowest responsible bid is within the publicly
disclosed funding amount of $2,200,000; and
4. Authorize the City Engineer to approve Contract Change Orders up to the available
project budget (Account 2001063), including any amendments authorized by the
City Manager; and
5. Authorize the City Manager to execute pole lease agreements with PG&E and
AT&T in a form approved by the City Attorney.
REPORT-IN-BRIEF
In April 2022, the City Council initiated efforts to expand broadband access and
affordability in the City of San Luis Obispo, culminating in the adoption of the City’s
Broadband Plan in June 2023. To implement the plan, the City partnered with Astound
Broadband and secured a $4,863,799 grant from the California Public Utilities
Commission’s (CPUC) Last Mile Federal Funding Account (FFA) to construct the first
phase of the City’s broadband network.
The Broadband Implementation Project – FFA Phase will construct the initial portion of
the City’s broadband network, including new aerial fiber install ations on existing utility
poles and underground fiber through trenching and boring, serving unserved areas within
San Luis Obispo. The main network, or “backbone,” will be owned by the City, while
Astound will provide the “last-mile” service connections—the final link that connects the
City’s broadband network directly to homes and businesses.
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Item 5e
This report seeks Council authorization to advertise the project for construction bids and
authorization for the City Manager to execute pole lease agreements with PG&E and
AT&T to advance the project into construction within the CPUC’s 24 -month completion
period.
POLICY CONTEXT
In April 2022, the City Council formed an ad-hoc committee to explore ways the City could
improve access and affordability of broadband internet for residents and businesses.
Based on the findings of that committee, in June 2022, Council allocated $600,000 of
State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to study the issue further and develop a
broadband plan. In June 2023, the City Council adopted the City’s Broadband Plan.
The 2021-2023 Major City Goals included a specific task related to broadband:
Economic Recovery, Resiliency, and Fiscal Sustainability ta sk
o 1.2b-5 – Review and establish policies as required to support broadband to
the home to take advantage of the opportunities to work from home to
support the Climate Action Plan and Quality of life.
The 2023-2025 Major City Goals include tasks related to broadband:
Economic Recovery, Resiliency, and Fiscal Sustainability task
o 1.2j – Represent the interests of the business community during the
implementation of the broadband strategic plan.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion task
o 2.7a – Support the development and implementation of the Broadband
Strategic Plan to ensure access is equitable and pursue funding to fill gaps.
The 2025-2027 Major City Goals call out specific tasks related to Broadband.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion task
o 1e – Complete the portion of the Broadband Plan funded through the Last
Mile FFA.
DISCUSSION
Background
The City’s Broadband Plan aims to bring affordable, equitable broadband access to all
residents of the City of San Luis Obispo. Broadband refers to connecting residents to
high-speed internet via fiber optic cables that enables reliable access to online services,
education, healthcare, business opportunities, and communication. This will be achieved
through a combination of new infrastructure and public -private partnerships that provide
services through that network. As a part of adopting the Broadband Plan, City Council
also authorized advertisement of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for design services to
implement the conceptual network design.
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To fund the Broadband Implementation project, as directed by Council, City staff looked
into the Last Mile FFA Grant from the CPUC. One of the grant requirements was
partnering with a qualified operator experienced in broadband deployment to both
households and businesses, enabling coverage of residential and commercial locations
lacking adequate service. After sending out requests for proposals for the this partnership,
the City selected Astound Broadband and executed a Public-Private Partnership (P3) on
June 18, 2024.
The project is expected to be completed within 24 months of approval as established by
the terms of the grant with the CPUC that was approved on October 17, 2024. On
December 10, 2024, the City accepted a Last Mile FFA Grant in the amount of $4,863,799
from the CPUC1.
Design
The Broadband Implementation Project – FFA brings broadband access to various
unserved areas throughout the City of San Luis Obispo. The design plans prepared by
EN Engineering, the City’s selected design consultant, include the installation of aerial
fiber lines onto existing power poles as well as new underground fiber installed by
horizontal drilling and open trenching.
Due to the scale of the Broadband network and funding provided through the CPUC grant,
the project was separated into two phases: FFA Grant Funded phase and the Strategic
Plan (SP) phase. The FFA Grant Funded phase will implement the portion of the
Broadband Plan shown in Figure 1, installing new fiber to create the backbone for service
to currently unserved areas. The larger SP phase, which is not part of the current project
scope and not shown in Figure 1, would connect the remaining unserved areas within the
City. Due to its scale and current funding constraints, the SP Phase is not included in the
City’s 10-Year CIP. However, staff will continue to seek grant opportunities to support
implementation of the SP Phase in the future which has a current conceptual cost
estimate of $13 million.
1 Despite the name, the Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant is administered by the state (the
California Public Utilities Commission). In accepting the grant in 2024, the City agreed to the state’s
requirements set forth in CPUC Resolution T-17852.
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Figure 1 - FFA Project Location
From this backbone, Astound will provide service drops to residences and businesses
that choose them as their network provider. All backbone infrastructure installed as part
of the project will be owned by the City. Project plans show approximate locations of fiber
and related infrastructure, as final alignment will depend on field conditions. The
Contractor, with support from City staff and the City’s on-call Construction Management
consultant, will finalize the alignment in the field after verifying existing utilities and
infrastructure. Project Plans and Specifications are provided for reference, showing the
locations of the proposed fiber infrastructure.
Pole Lease Agreements
As part of this project, the City will need to attach fiber lines to poles owned by PG&E and
AT&T—10 poles are PG&E-owned, 12 are AT&T-owned, and 67 are jointly owned. To do
this, the City must enter into Pole Lease Agreements with both utilities to share a portion
of their poles. The executed agreements will be in substantially the same forms as
provided here: PG&E and AT&T.
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PG&E and AT&T, as regulated utilities under the CPUC, are required to provide access
to their poles and have established Joint Pole Agreements to manage access . By entering
the Pole Lease Agreements, the City will join these Joint Pole Agreements, which outline
responsibilities for pole access, maintenance, and cost-sharing for pole replacements if
needed. The City will pay the initial annual leasing fee, totaling approximately $1,500 per
year for all the poles, using the grant money. The annual fee is based off an individual
charge of $15.82 per pole per year for AT&T , $25.90 per pole per year for PG&E owned
poles, and $15.82 per pole per year for Jointly owned poles. The subsequent annual pole
fees are currently being negotiated to be paid by Astound through an amendment to the
City’s existing Public, Private, Partnership (P3) Agreement . Staff will also be looking to
transfer ownership of the installed infrastructure after 3 years of ownership to Astound
through the same amendment as they will be operating the system.
Authorization for the City Manager to execute the Pole Lease Agreements is critical to the
project schedule. These agreements must be executed before the City can award the
construction contract to ensure the route of aerial lines is known to the City and contractor.
Temporary Pole Placement
As part of the Pole Lease Agreements, EN Engineering completed a pole loading analysis
to confirm that the additional weight of City fiber lines would not overload existing poles
or cause failure2.
The analysis identified thirteen poles that are currently or will be in a failed condition as a
result of this project. To address this, the City must either replace the poles or install
temporary poles next to them. Temporary poles allow fiber installation to proceed without
waiting for replacement, which could otherwise take months or years depending on the
pole owner’s availability and would jeopardize the grant timeline for project completion.
The City will not be responsible for replacing poles that fail after attachments are made,
provided the City’s attachments did not cause the failure. In such cases, the pole
replacement will be the responsibility of the attaching party that caused the failure or the
pole owner.
Historically, the City has not allowed temporary poles due to the uncertain replacement
timeframe. For this project, however, the City is working with Astound Broadband to
amend the Public, Private, Partnership (P3) Agreement. Under the amended agreement,
Astound will remove the temporary poles when the failed poles have been replaced after
project completion.
Previous Council or Advisory Body Action
April 4, 2023 – City staff provided an update on Broadband Plan and City Council provided
direction to complete a plan focused on a public-private partnership.
2 This is important because, under the pole lease agreement with PG&E, the City will be liable for claims if
its attachments cause loading on the pole to be out of conformance with applicable regulations.
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June 20, 2023 - City Council adopted the Broadband Plan to facilitate work to improve
broadband access and affordability within the City and authorized the release of an RFP
for a Broadband Private Partner to work with the City to improve broadband access .
June 18, 2024 – City Council authorized the City Manager to execute a Public-Private
Partnership (P3) Agreement for Broadband Services between the City of San Luis Obispo
and Astound Broadband, LLC.
December 10, 2024 - City Council and the Mayor Accepted the Last Mile FFA Grant and
authorized the appropriation of funding ($4,863,799) to the Broadband Implementation
Project account (2001063).
Public Engagement
This item is on the agenda for the December 2, 2025 City Council meeting and will follow
all the required posting and notification. Public comment on the item can be provided to
the City Council through written correspondence prior to the meeting and through public
testimony at the meeting.
After project award, Public Works staff will conduct community outreach to present an
overview of the project, answer questions, and discuss any potential impacts on the
surrounding area. Leading into project construction commencement, staff will provide
notification of upcoming construction and updates throughout construction.
CONCURRENCE
City Staff from the Public Works Department and Information Technology Division have
worked collaboratively throughout the design and planning phases to ensure compliance
with City Standards. In addition, City staff from the Public Works Department and City
Attorney’s office are in the process of reviewing the Pole Lease Agreements.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The project consists of installation of aerial and underground fiber along with replacement
of existing asphalt, sidewalk, curb and gutter in various locations throughout the City. A
portion of the Project is located within a potentially archeologically sensitive zone and
appropriate monitoring will be in place in the event any sensitive archeological resources
are encountered during the project. The final scope and location of the Project is
consistent with the previously adopted Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
(IS/MND) ER 10-07 that was approved by the City’s Community Development Director
on February 23, 2007 with the Notice of Determination filed with the County of San Luis
Obispo, which addressed trenching and improvements within archeologically sensitive
areas. Mitigation measures approved through IS/MND ER 10-07 are included in the
Project’s specifications and will be followed by the City’s contractor, consistent with the
requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
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Item 5e
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: Yes Budget Year: 2024-25
Funding Identified: Yes
Fiscal Analysis:
Funding
Sources
Total Budget
Available
Current
Funding
Request
Remaining
Balance
Annual
Ongoing
Cost
General Fund $ $ $ $
State (CPUC) $4,863,799 $4,863,799 $0
Federal
Fees
Other:
Total $4,863,799 $ $ $
The project has a total available balance of $4,863,799, which is fully funded through the
CPUC grant. As the funding source is a dedicated grant, all available funds must be
expended in support of the project. The City’s broadband partner, Astound Broadba nd,
has also committed $1,211,011 in matching funds to be used for service drops. There are
no matching funds required from the City.
The total project cost includes both direct construction costs and soft costs, as detailed in
the table below. Direct costs include construction and construction contingency, while soft
costs include archeological monitoring, construction management, pole lease agreement
fees, and other related expenses necessary for project completion.
Since the total grant provides sufficient funding to support a higher -than-normal
contingency, City staff is recommending awarding this contract up to the Publicly
Disclosed amount of $2,200,000. This allows the City Manager to award a project with
bids that potentially come in higher than the Engineer’s Estimate of $1,800,000. With the
project being the first Broadband project executed by the City, a larger contingency allows
the City to complete the project within the available budget. This contingency allows the
City to account for potential risks associated with horizontal drilling operations, including
possible conflicts with existing utilities and unforeseen subsurface conditions. In
accordance with CPUC grant requirements, funds are restricted to the approved FFA
phase scope. Any grant funds not expended during construction will then be allocated to
Astound to provide additional service drops. If after completion of the project, any unused
grant funds remain, they will be returned to the CPUC.
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Item 5e
Broadband Implementation Project, Specification No. 2001063
Broadband Implementation
Project (2001063)
Project
Total Costs
Last Mile FFA Grant
Publicly Disclosed Limit $2,200,000 $2,200,000
Contingencies (30%) $625,960 $625,960
EN Engineering Permit Application Support $20,000 $20,000
Construction Management $400,000 $400,000
Materials Testing $30,000 $30,000
Archeological Monitoring Plan and Services $15,000 $15,000
Printing & Advertising $2,500 $2,500
Pole Lease Agreement Fees $150,000 $150,000
Service Drops to Unserved Locations (Astound) $1,245,339 $1,245,339
Major Equipment (Astound) $175,000 $175,000
Total Cost of Project $4,863,799 $4,863,799
Total Available Funding $4,863,799 $4,863,799
Remaining Balance $0 $0
ALTERNATIVES
1. Council could decide not to authorize advertisement and award at this time:
This alternative would delay construction of the Broadband Implementation
Project. Construction must be completed by October 17, 2026, per CPUC grant
requirements and delays may result in the loss of grant funding.
2. Council could decide not to authorize the City Manager to execute Pole
Lease Agreements: This alternative would delay construction as multiple updates
to City Council may be required to finalize the agreement causing delays in pole
attachments.
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